December 2014

We made it! … another calendar year at ‘Calas’ behind us and looking forward towards another!

Truck and I hope you’ve been enjoying the Holiday’s with us. If you’ve been with us through any of the past 6 seasons, you know how much we love this time of year.

As we watch the seasons move across the park from the greens of spring and summer to the quiet, enchanted moments of a snow white winter each year , closing the circle again which began in the winter of 2009 … we can’t help but feel the comfort … and accomplishment … that comes in remaining a unique destination in Second Life. We hope our members and visitors share in that feeling … a sense of accomplishment from your support in so many ways and the peace and comfort we hope the park gives you. Although Calas Galadhon Park has changed at times since its birth, our dream to design a destination in Second Life which would foster a haven of peace though its spirit as much as its natural beauty and ‘sense of place’, remains constant for us.

Support

Below you will find the donation totals for the month of November as well as one with the mid-month figures for December. The support of Calas this year through donations has been more than we ever expected. Thanks so very much to those who have been able to support us in this way … for helping us keep the park running the past 9 months.

We also wanted to let you know that the donations collected from the visitors of Darkwood & Noel have been wonderful as well; essentially covering the cost of renting the ‘Breakfree’ sim for the four months we have used it. Our members and the many visitors who have taken part have been awesome in their support of these special ‘Calas’ builds this year. We look forward to exploring new ideas for more of these in the future.

Looking ahead to 2015

We had mentioned in the Fall Field Notes that we would be taking a break and closing the park to the public for the month of January. As we did last year, we will use this time for a rest and for making some needed changes. What these changes will be are still being explored. Our Live Music program will go on hiatus until March.

What has become increasingly clear as Truck and I look back over 2014 and ahead into the coming year is that the budgeting of our Second Life time is just as important as the cost.

With limits on our time (and energy) we did find ourselves struggling to complete everything we wanted to in the last four months … the season changes of summer to autumn to winter, the Darkwood and Noel builds and of course doing our best to manage the park and Live Music performances as well. With our love for the creative process and the thrill of seeing how much others appreciate the work, one can overlook for a while, the toll it is taking.

We must say that without the real time support of our dear friends Kerena Zhangsun & Alicia Underby helping us host our Live Music shows and Romie Vella managing the website, we would have been hard pressed to get it all done this year. They, along with Truck, can testify how stressed and crazed I was at times with worry about whether or not all could be done on time while at the same time maintaining the quality all have come to expect from us . When I start having dreams similar to those we’ve all had as kids of going to school only to realize that one had forgot ones pants, it’s definitely time to slow down.

To make better use of our available inworld time and resources while assuring that Calas remains the unique SL Destination it is, we are going to have to ‘bite the bullet’ and downsize the Park in 2015. A very difficult but we feel necessary decision. While it can be unsettling, we view these type changes as an opportunity to create new and exciting projects. You can be assured that whatever changes we implement, Calas Galadhon Park will still be the unique SL destination it is today.